Today, being Thanksgiving Day (here in the US, at least) ... strikes me as a good time to post a bit here about all the things, and people, for which / whom, I'm grateful ...
I am grateful for having almost a full year off of Cymbalta, and now having a life without the evil poison in my body/brain
I am grateful for every moment of suffering that I experienced while going through withdrawal -- because I learned the value of suffering, how to live with it and in it and in spite of it ... and I learned to appreciate every tiny instant of "feeling good" and "alive" ...
I am grateful that I am now able to sleep for almost the whole night, and to wake up feeling rested.
I am grateful that I have learned to live with, deal with, manage ... the anxiety, fear, terror and panic that came in the wake of Cymbalta and withdrawal ...
I am grateful that I am still able to function physically and mentally, and I am grateful for the acceptance I now feel about the damage the drug/withdrawal did to me, mentally and physically ...
I am grateful that I am now able to work again, even if just PT and/or temporary jobs ...
I am grateful that I still have a roof over my head, and enuf food to eat, and medical care ...
I am grateful for the humility I have learned by having to get my food and medical care by going onto "welfare" ... I will never again take "having money, a good job etc" for granted and I will never again feel "smug" and "better than" those who have no choice but to take "public assistance" ...
I am grateful for my one best friend, who stuck with me during withdrawal and is still with me ... who came to make soup for me and check to see if I was "still alive" twice a week during those first, hardest weeks and months ...
I can go on for pages and pages ... but I won't ... I will end here with the two things for which I am most grateful ...
I am grateful, for eternity ...
for my faith in God and my relationship with Him ..
for this forum ... and each and every one of my wonderful friends here ... those who are still here, those who have moved on in their lives ... those who have yet to arrive ... had I not found this safe haven early on in withdrawal, I genuinely do not know what would have become of me ... perhaps back on the poison, or in a mental hospital ... or likely on even more drugs .. I would have had no hope, no knowledge of what was happening to me, no encouragement and support ... yet instead of that, I found help, hope and healing here ... I won't name names, you know who you are ...
I am grateful ... so grateful ... for you, my forum friends ... because without you, I would not have been able to write a gratitude list today ... I would be lost, alone, and empty of gratitude ..